After reading Grains of Sand: The Fall of Neve Dekalim, my mind was swimming with questions. This brilliant book offers the reader a front row seat in the dramatic and painful withdrawal of the Jews from the Gaza Strip. Shifra Shomron is the teenage author and a former resident of Gush Katif, a part of the Gaza Strip, and brings the reader deep into her struggle with descriptive images and her own poetry.

Shifra, who was born in Arizona and made aliyah with her family in 1992, is an exceptionally bright, talented and above all, brave person to have penned this book—the first of its kind to document what it was like to live the Disengagement. Her book will open your eyes to the challenges and hopes of Israeli citizens.

What was the area in Israel that you grew up in like? What did you do for fun?

I grew up in Neve Dekalim, in Gush Katif. Neve Dekalim was a beautiful community of about 500 families, surrounded by some twenty smaller agricultural communities. Gush Katif was located on Israel's southern border, and was influenced by being both adjacent to the desert Negev and yet also snug upon the Mediterranean Sea. Sunsets were breathtaking: a glowing orb sinking behind swaying palm trees into the blue sea.

Gush Katif was populated by mostly observant (Orthodox) Jews with varied backgrounds: Jews from Yemen, France, Morocco, USA, India, etc., which explains the numerous synagogues in Neve Dekalim. In a way, we were all one big family. When you live in [such a small community], you know everyone by sight, if not by name.

For entertainment, we had our friends, our youth movements (B'nai Akiva and Ariel), the beach, or we could get together and have a pizza, or drive into town and go to a mall.

What was it like during the Second Intifada?

The serenity of life in Gush Katif was shattered with the outbreak of the Second Intifada. We were forced to adjust to life under terror: shooting on the roads, mortars, Kassam rockets and anti-tank missiles launched at our communities and attempted Arab infiltrations. People we knew were injured, some even killed.

What does Israel mean to you as a teenager and specifically as a Jew?

As a Jew, Israel is my homeland. God promised the land of Israel to every single one of my forefathers. As a teenager, one searches for roots, for truth, for meaning in life. As a Jewish teenager that journey becomes more poignant, because you know you are different and you have to find out why. I knew that I was a Jew and that that was a destiny I could not escape. I read the bible and I perused many history books, and I searched for Jewish pride. And Israel is where it all began. Israel is where we belong.

What is the "moral" or overall message of Grains of Sand ?

In Grains of Sand, I tell the story of an Israeli family living in Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif, from the time before the Second Intifada and up until the Disengagement. There are many threads woven into my tale, and different people can come away from it with different messages, different morals. And that's fine with me. There is much for us to learn. I wrote my book to enable people to be transferred beyond time and location—into my Gush Katif. If I were to try to choose one message that is more important than all the rest, it would be: Remember Gush Katif.

As an American Jew, Israel can seem very far away and yet close to our hearts at the same time. What can we do in the United States to help make a change in Israel?

The best thing the American Jew can do to help Israel is to come to Israel. Beyond that, I would say that it is crucial that Jews in America strengthen their Jewish identity.

Your book is very personal. Was it hard to open your heart so widely to readers around the world?

Most of the events in the book actually happened—if not to me, then to people I know—and much of the dialogue is true. My book is personal, but it isn't only my story. My story is the story of thousands of Jews who lived in Gush Katif. It is the story of blossoming communities that, after thriving for 30 years, were reduced to gray piles of rubble. It wasn't hard for me [to open myself up] because Gush Katif now exists in the memories of its banished residents, and those memories mustn't be forgotten.

The book has a lot to do with the beauty of Israel where the native language is Hebrew, yet you wrote the book in English. Do you feel that there is something lost in that language barrier?

I chose to write my book in English rather than in Hebrew so that it would be available to as many people as possible. However, language is culture and we do lose something. In the few parts where I included lines in Hebrew, I provided the English translation.

Do you support the two-state plan that will create a Palestinian state alongside Israel?

I support a separation plan but not one that tears away parts of the Jewish land. The Arabs have 22 states, may they live long and prosper. We have one state, and I want it to live long and prosper. If we Jews are crowded into a tiny sliver of a state adjacent to a militant anti-Israel state, we will have no peace.

What is it like to be a teenage author? Do people treat you differently?

I wrote numerous articles before writing my book, so it wasn't really a surprise when I decided to write a book. However, I'm not very comfortable telling people I've published a book. To tell the truth, I still haven't told all my college professors yet.

What would be some guiding advice you would give a teenager who wants to tell their story, no matter what it may be?

To keep it simple—write about what you know and what you feel strongly about. Don't worry about motives, themes and other literary ornaments. Also, it helps a lot if you've kept a diary for several years—writing down the facts, your thoughts and emotions while events are taking place is absolutely invaluable for telling your story later.

Ben is a senior at Gann Academy in Waltham, Mass. In his free time, Ben enjoys playing guitar, participating in USY events, making films and doing community service.